Baking Blue Cheese & Pear Muffins

It is school holidays and we have a whole bunch of hungry kids passing through the house on a regular basis. Some of these are teenage boys and they tend to bring their appetites with them. It is a good time to have snacks and mini-meals at hand and muffins, especially giant muffins, fit this bill perfectly. Blue cheese is not something that a large part of my family appreciates and generally we are a select group left to ourselves to consume this fabulous delicacy. However, that all changes when I bake these Blue Cheese and Pear Muffins. Then everyone is a fan and I am hard pushed to bake enough of them. You will not believe how good these are until you've tried them yourself! And then you'll never stop baking them.

I wish I could take credit for this fabulous recipe, but it comes from this wonderful recipe book. In fact there are so many great recipes in this book, that I recommend you find yourself a copy and enjoy the delectable journey it takes your tastebuds on.

Start by sifting 2 cups (500 ml) flour and 3 teaspoons (15 ml) baking powder.

Add a teaspoon (5 ml) of salt to that.

Grate a cup (250 ml) of Cheddar cheese and add it to the bowl.

Chop some fresh parsley and spring onion. I stray from the recipe here and add some chives as well. Add this to the bowl.

Crumble 100g of Blue Cheese and add it to the bowl. The type I added may be a little too much of an acquired taste. I suggest you start your explorations of blue cheese in a milder style.

I did not have fresh pears, but canned pears work just as well. Add two pears, chopped up, to the bowl. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon, or similar utensil.

In a separate bowl, mix 2 eggs, 80 ml cooking oil and a cup (250 ml) milk.

Add this to the dry ingredients and blend with an electric mixer.  Add more milk if necessary (or even some of that pear syrup, if you used canned pears).

Scoop the mixture into muffin tins prepared with non-stick spray. (Center back is my extra banana and almond muffin from the previous blog). Stick the pan in a preheated oven at 200°C for 20-30 minutes.

 
I had some teenagers in a tree outside, helping their grandfather to bring down the dead tree before it fell over. They had been at it for a while and would be hungry when they came down.

Allow the muffins to sit in the pan for a few minutes before turning them out on a wire rack.

Allow them cool down on a wire rack, as a solid surface will make them sweat and become soggy.

When the muffins came out of the oven, I called the teens in and watched it disappear before my eyes. Well, that's why we bake, isn't it?

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